


Silent Words

by bigwolfpup



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Ahsoka is the same age as Anakin, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Deaf Character, Developing Relationship, Eventual Smut, M/M, Obi-Wan was not Anakin's master in this AU, Strangers to Lovers, aged-up Ahsoka, deaf obi-wan, probably some other stuff but at this point I'm too tired to tag them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-05-25
Packaged: 2019-04-20 05:15:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14253795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bigwolfpup/pseuds/bigwolfpup
Summary: Obi-Wan was born deaf. He had never heard a single noise in his whole life. It was perhaps a miracle that he was discovered by the Jedi on Stewjon as a young boy. Now, he's a general in the Clone Wars, and one mission calls for extra help from a few other Jedi, Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano. When Obi-Wan discovers that Anakin was the little boy he saw on Tatooine so many years before, he finds himself wondering if Anakin could be the one to take the place of Qui-Gon, both in his heart and as his interpreter.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Obi-Wan is a deaf character. He speaks through his hands, and he is written as such. Any dialogue he has is written as if he is physically speaking, even though he is signing in Basic. Keep this in mind as you read any scenes with his dialogue.
> 
> Also Ahsoka is the same age as Anakin because I wanted Anakin to have her around before she canonically comes in as Anakin's padawan.
> 
> As of right now this fic has five (5) chapters written and ready to be posted. This first one will be published on the submission day for the big bang. The rest will be posted probably weekly, like every Sunday.

Nothing warned him when the foreign ship entered the atmosphere of Stewjon. No one came to tell him that there was a Jedi there to visit him. Nobody came to tell him to move from his room, to move away from his little world of artistry and dreaming. He was left in his own, silent world as he drew beautiful designs on pieces of flimsy. Hundreds of pieces were pinned up in his room, all work that he had done over the years since he was at least five standard years old.

However, no one needed to come tell him. He could feel the ground vibrate in a way others couldn’t. He already knew someone was coming even before the ship could be seen in the sky. Even if he couldn’t hear the ship, he felt it coming.

When he had finished his drawing, Obi-Wan stood up and admired it with a smile. He pinned it up next to his other latest drawings, scratching his neck as he examined it all. When he was satisfied, he turned and exited his room to see who had arrived on his home planet. It wasn’t very often that people visited, so it was always a thrill to the young boy of 12 standard years to see new people, new races that lived all across the galaxy.

Obi-Wan’s mother greeted him outside of their family home, a wide smile on her face as she made a sort of salute to her son. The boy made the same sign back to her, as well as to the people passing by who signed at him. 

Obi-Wan had a good environment to live in, despite his hearing impairment. Words and sounds fell deaf on his ears. He hadn’t heard a single thing in his life, but he had coped with it. Even growing up, he had learned how to communicate with others through signs with his hands. His signing still wasn’t strong, but it was better than anyone who used the signs to communicate back with him. 

Familiar faces were all around the boy as he was led to the point where the ship had landed. It was a very nice ship, recognized instantly as a Jedi ship. Not many visits were given by the Jedi. Usually the only reason they came was to collect children for the new generation of Jedi, or to protect systems from certain doom. However, this visit was different, special if one might describe it. This visit was solely for Obi-Wan, even if no one knew it yet.

A tall human male emerged from the ship, along with a few others recognized as Jedi. Obi-Wan marveled at the majesty the Jedi brought with them, his mind wandering to the fantasy he had always had of becoming a Jedi. 

The Jedi were greeted warmly, and they greeted warmly back. It was a mutual respect, one that was becoming a rarity in the galaxy. Slowly, the Jedi made their way through the crowd until it parted just in front of Obi-Wan and his mother.

A few words were exchanged between the mother and the tall Jedi, words that Obi-Wan could not hear nor read off of their lips. He swallowed nervously, looking to his mother, who was a mere inch taller than what he already was. She gave him a reassuring smile, and she signed to him that he was to pack up his things.

“Why,” he asked in sign.

“Why? To be a Jedi of course, my dear.”

 

-x-x-x-

 

Obi-Wan watched the blue streaks of hyperspace fly by, mesmerized by them as he watched. It was his first time in space travel, and he had never felt so unsure of himself. He could only feel the rumbling of the ship as it flew, the rumbling overpowering any movement by the Jedi who were on the ship with him. He felt as blind as he was deaf. How could anyone enjoy space travel? It was terrifying! You could only feel the ship, he was sure that if he wasn’t deaf, he still wouldn’t be able to hear over the roar of the ship’s engines. 

There was a hand on his shoulder. The hand belonged to the tall Jedi, an older man with a kind face and gentle features. As Obi-Wan looked up at him, he smiled. No words came from his mouth, nor from his hands. Just a simple smile and a calming hand on the shoulder was all there was, and for once Obi-Wan was glad for the lack of words. He wouldn’t have known what to say anyways.

Eventually curiosity took over him once the Jedi had left his side. So he hunted the man down, like a predator tracking its prey, and then the Jedi was found. He was with the others, but when Obi-Wan had appeared, the attention of the Jedi was focused on the boy.

Obi-Wan took a deep breath, making a bold move to sign at the Jedi.

“What’s your name?”

The Jedi looked confused for a moment. “My name?”

Obi-Wan nodded.

The Jedi smiled at him. “My name is Qui-Gon. What’s your name?”

Obi-Wan smiled with delight. “My name is Obi-Wan.”

Qui-Gon knew very little signing, but he knew enough to communicate his name and basic needs, a few longer phrases, and perhaps some colorful language taught to him by a friend long gone. But to see the boy before him light up when he understood the signing, it inspired Qui-Gon to perhaps expand his knowledge of signing to better understand Obi-Wan. After all, he had planned to take the boy as his padawan.

Still smiling, Obi-Wan signed once more, the words completely lost on the other Jedi watching. “Nice to meet you, Qui-Gon.”

Qui-Gon nodded, then turned to his fellow Jedi. “This is Obi-Wan,” he announced out loud.

The two other Jedi, known as Plo Koon and Shaak Ti, both smiled at the boy. Neither of them knew enough signing to communicate with the boy, but they were determined to learn just as Qui-Gon was. Having a deaf Jedi was a first in the recorded history of the Order, and the existing Jedi wanted to make Obi-Wan as comfortable as possible in his new home.

The three Jedi continued to talk, and as they did, Obi-Wan’s smile faded as he watched them, unable to know what they were saying. He sighed and looked out the nearby window. 

Blue flashed by so quickly, Obi-Wan thought he might get dizzy if he were to look at it for too long. But he had been watching it since they entered hyperspace, and not once did he get dizzy. He only got dizzy when trying to walk around the ship and getting confused by the vibrations caused by the ship. Being unable to hear anything, Obi-Wan often found that he would be startled by places that felt confusing. 

It took a bit for Qui-Gon to notice that Obi-Wan was feeling left out of the conversation. The boy had resorted to sitting under the window he had previously been looking out of, hugging his knees to his chest as he stared at the floor.

Struggling to come up with the right signs for Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon fetched a piece of flimsy and began writing on it. “Are you alright? What’s wrong?”

Obi-Wan looked at the writing, then looked up at Qui-Gon, then at the writing once more. He struggled. Part of him wanted to sign, but if Qui-Gon had needed to write things down, then he wouldn’t have been able to understand the signs Obi-Wan would have given him. Sighing, the boy wrote back his response on the flimsy. “I feel lonely. I want solid ground again too.”

“Does the ship make you feel weird?”

Obi-Wan nodded. Now that he thought about it, he almost felt panicked because of the lack of solid ground. There was too much for him to take in at once. Space travel, no solid ground, traveling to a new place of which he knew nothing about, it was all a lot to take in for a hearing-impaired boy. “Yes, it makes me feel nervous.”

Qui-Gon nodded and gestured for Obi-Wan to follow him. The boy followed close behind, following the tall man back to an enclosed room in the ship. 

It was a sleeping room, looking like it was already occupied. If Obi-Wan had to take a guess as to who was staying in that room, he would have guessed it was Qui-Gon. Seeking an answer, Obi-Wan looked up at the Jedi. His eyes followed the tall man over to the cot that served as a mattress, watching as Qui-Gon patted the space next to him as he sat down. As nervous as Obi-Wan was to sit next to the Jedi, he moved anyways and pulled himself into the cot. It was far more comfortable than he had expected.

Qui-Gon put the piece of flimsy on his knee and began writing once more, allowing Obi-Wan to watch him carefully. “What about the ship makes you feel nervous?”

“The floor rumbles.”

Qui-Gon made a face, unsure of what Obi-Wan meant by the floor rumbling. Then his eyes widened in understanding. “The ship’s engines do make a lot of noise. You may be feeling them work to keep the ship moving.”

Obi-Wan made an “oh” shape with his mouth, nodding at being told what the rumbling was. Before, he had not known, but now that he knew, he felt a little more at ease. “They must be very loud.”

Qui-Gon shook his head. “They’re quiet actually. Many layers of the ship prevent the noise from getting too far.”

Obi-Wan looked confused for a bit, but he shook his head and disregarded the answer. The ship intrigued him, and he wanted to go explore, but he didn’t know how long the trip would be, and he felt cold anyways. Perhaps finding a blanket and taking a nap would be better option for him.

Qui-Gon noticed how the boy was shivering, certainly not used to how cold pace was. He took off his cloak and draped it around Obi-Wan’s shoulders.

Obi-Wan looked up with wide eyes, then he smiled. “Thank you,” he signed.

“You’re welcome,” Qui-Gon responded. He sat next to Obi-Wan and wrapped an arm around him, giving him an extra amount of warmth for the trip to Coruscant.

 

-x-x-x-

 

Obi-Wan kicked a nearby rock as he and his master walked to the starship hangar, heading off to contact the Trade Federation. 

The boy was now nearing 25 standard years old. He had grown quite handsomely, and his skills as a Jedi proved to be great. Qui-Gon was very proud of him and the effort he put into becoming a Jedi, despite being deaf. However, there was a slight issue. The Council still did not like that Obi-Wan started on his path to becoming a Jedi so late. It was the rule, law almost, that all Jedi start training as young children, raised in the temples and trained as soon as they were old enough to hold a training saber.

Obi-Wan had skipped a good chunk of that part. He was not raised in the temple, nor was he taught at a young age. Still, Qui-Gon fought for him, and the Council reluctantly let the Jedi have his way.

The rock Obi-Wan had kicked skidded out of the hangar and fell down into the depths of Coruscant. He let out a small sigh and looked up to the starship he and Qui-Gon were to take. He didn’t know why, but something about this mission felt off. Nothing came to mind as to why it felt off, it just did. It frustrated Obi-Wan, and the only way he could take out his frustration was kicking the rock around, which he had now lost to the city planet.

The sigh caught the attention of the tall Jedi, so Qui-Gon paused and stopped Obi-Wan, grabbing his attention. “Something wrong,” he asked while signing the question.”

Obi-Wan looked away for a bit, rubbing his arm, then he looked back at his master. “I don’t know,” he replied back in sign. “Something feels off.”

“How so?”

The padawan shrugged, his braid falling over his shoulder. “It doesn’t feel safe, I guess.”

“Do you think we need to stay here?”

“No, but I think we should be cautious.”

Qui-Gon nodded, agreeing. “We should. Try not to worry too much. Release you feeling into the Force like I taught you.”

Obi-Wan nodded and continued to the starship, Qui-Gon on his heels as they both entered. Both moved to the cockpit instinctively, and with a few clearance checks, they were ready to launch and head off into space.

Obi-Wan was always nervous about entering space. The sensation it brought when one was not able to hear things was quite scary frankly, and it still bothered him greatly, though he had learned to cope. At one moment he ship would be still and calm, and in the next it would be lurching forward. Obi-Wan didn’t like flying, and the only time he would fly was if it was absolutely necessary. Unfortunately, this was one of those times that it was necessary.

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were soon heading off to meet the Trade Federation as ambassadors of the Chancellor, the ship taking them far, far away from the planet Obi-Wan had learned to call home. Coruscant had been a startling place at first with so many vibrations, flashing lights, and crowds, but the Temple itself had been cut off from most of it. To Obi-Wan it felt as if the whole temple was a garden, a hidden eden of relaxation surrounded by the chaotic city. It was easier to adjust there, and he was glad he had his master’s support every time they left the safety of the Temple as a boy.

As they propelled further into the vastness of space, Coruscant soon became nothing more but a spec in the grand expanse of the galaxy. And that was when the sinking feeling in Obi-Wan’s stomach grew larger.

They were waiting on the Viceroy when Obi-Wan sensed the gas bombs, and he had little time to warn his master before the room started filling up with unbreathable gas. Together they fought their way out of the Trade Federation’s ship and stowed away on one heading to the surface of Naboo. Obi-Wan swallowed the sick feeling rising in his stomach as he stuck close to his master.

Once planet-side, they split up to evaluate the coming attack on the peaceful planet. Obi-Wan was nervous, though he was careful not to let his worries get to him too much at least. If he was too worried with the situation and the bad feeling he had, he knew he’d wind up dead somewhere, and that wasn’t something he wanted his master to see. 

Moving through the wet forests, Obi-Wan trod upon light feet, observing from a distance the perhaps thousands of battle droids being unloaded and activated. He swallowed, looking around him for a possible way up to see a greater distance. He spotted his chance, but as soon as he looked back ahead of him, his eyes widened as he realized he had been spotted. Several battle droids on speeders were headed his way, and quickly. He had little time to turn and run, his foot slipping on the mud and sending him tumbling down before he regained his footing and ran towards Qui-Gon’s Force signature. 

By the time he finally did reach Qui-Gon, he had managed to rid himself of several of the battle droids, with only 2 left following him. Thankfully Qui-Gon spotted him in danger and was quick to destroy the remaining battle droids.

Obi-Wan bent over and caught his breath, finally letting his guard down and relaxing.

Qui-Gon put a reassuring hand on his padawan’s back, rubbing small circles before looking back up at the… thing he had managed to pick up. 

Obi-Wan straightened back up and also looked at the strange creature. Though he couldn’t hear, Obi-Wan was sure this creature didn’t sound all that intelligent just by looking at it.

“What is this,” the padawan asked, hands moving quickly.

“A local,” Qui-Gon replied. 

Obi-Wan nodded, sniffing and rubbing his nose. 

The party of now three members headed to a giant lake, the sight of it making Obi-Wan internally groan. He was already soaked from the oversaturated planet. Going for a swim was not something he really wanted to do. Nevertheless, the padawan followed his master and the local, which Obi-Wan had learned was a Gungan named Jar Jar Binks. The three of them swam for what seemed like a very long time until they came over a ridge, the yellow lights of an underwater city giving Obi-Wan at least a little hope to dry off soon.

Much of the time spent in the city went over Obi-Wan’s head, as most was spoken aloud and not signed, the only form of communication besides writing that he could understand. So he stood in silence, glancing about the city when he could and spacing off when his master spoke to the leader of the city. 

Before he knew it, they were moving once more, taking a transport through the planet’s core to reach the Naboo people. The transport’s vibrations made the padawan sleepy, but he stifled a yawn and kept his eyes peeled for any danger in the water as his master drove them to their destination, Jar Jar in tow with them.

Soon they reached the surface of the water, and Obi-Wan shook his head to wake himself up. It was time to return to work. There was an attack on its way, and the Queen had to be saved.


	2. Chapter 2

Of course the hyperdrive had to be leaking. Obi-Wan sighed as he looked through the little terminal in the royal cruiser’s cockpit, searching for a planet to serve as a landing site. There was little time before he discovered Tatooine, a desert planet controlled by the Hutts. 

“Master,” he sighed, grabbing the attention of Qui-Gon. “Here, Tatooine. We will be safe there.”

Qui-Gon nodded, then informed the pilot of the ship, who seemed upset by the choice of planet to land on. Obi-Wan, huffed silently, slouching a little in annoyance, his eyebrows lowering. There wasn’t a better planet around for parsecs. The pilot would just have to be happy with Tatooine.

The ship landed on the very dry planet, and Obi-Wan headed back to the hyperdrive. He noticed a vital piece missing, and he sighed, placing his hands on his hips. It would be a while before they left Tatooine.

Qui-Gon came to him shortly, dressed civilian clothes that looked ridiculous on him. Obi-Wan couldn’t help but crack a smile. “You look silly.”

Qui-Gon chuckled. “You’ll look silly too then. There is a set for you in the refresher.”

Obi-Wan’s eyes widened. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am,” Qui-Gon signed with a smirk. “Go change. The Hyperdrive will be fine without you.”

Obi-Wan looked at the hyper drive skeptically, then back at Qui-Gon and nodded. “Okay. Be right back.”

Obi-Wan hated the sand. Already with walking in it for a few minutes, he hated it. The heat added on top of it only made it worse. Sure, Tatooine was a good place to hide, but it was a terrible place to live. How anyone managed to survive on the dustball of a planet, Obi-Wan would never know. The sands shifted underfoot, making him feel steady as well as greatly muffling any vibrations he’d normally feel. It was frankly discomforting and tempted him to reach out into the Force for help, but he refrained and kept close to his master. The idea of rabid creatures stalking them from within the sand ran wild in his mind, and he tried pushing it aside, trusting that the Force would send him a warning, or Qui-Gon would if he heard something.

Accompanying Qui-Gon and himself was one of the queen’s handmaidens, Padmé. The queen had insisted that she go with the two Jedi, and Obi-Wan had no opposition to it. Padmé knew a bit of signing, so she could communicate with him almost as well as Qui-Gon could. It made Obi-Wan happy to know he had another person with him that he could talk to. In fact, he and Padmé talked for most of the walk to the nearby spaceport. She was a very bright young woman who made for interesting, engaging conversation. He couldn’t help but enjoy her company, even if Qui-Gon hadn’t been overly pleased with having to allow her to join them.

Arriving at the spaceport, both Padmé and Obi-Wan showed their distaste for the settlement. It wasn’t the fancy spaceports they were used to on other planets, but for such a desolate world, it was probably the best one on the whole planet.

There was a small parts shop that Qui-Gon led the group to. Inside was considerably cooler, and Obi-Wan thankfully wiped sweat off of his forehead. The floor was also a nice sterdy stone which helped ease him. As soon as he was able to observe his surroundings, he was met with a small pair of bright blue eyes. He stared for a little longer than he would have liked, but the boy who the eyes belonged to kept staring back. 

The boy moved his gaze to Padmé, then back to Obi-Wan. He moved his mouth, and Obi-Wan felt his heart drop, as did every time he saw someone begin to speak instead of sign. The words the boy said fell on Obi-Wan’s deaf ears.

A rather fat Toydarian came hovering in, approaching Qui-Gon for what Obi-Wan could assume was negotiations for the parts the ship needed. It was a short conversation, Obi-Wan observing Jedi mind tricks being used and failing to work. The nervous feeling rose up in the padawan once more, and he quickly rushed outside with heart racing. He was slowly coming to realize that nothing on this world was solid. The sands kept shifting, the wind kept blowing, and the danger he sensed kept growing. Somehow it was centered around the boy in the shop, and yet somehow it wasn’t. Obi-Wan had never felt so confused in his life.

A firm hand startled him so much that he jumped, sending sand flying in all directions. He clutched his chest when he recognized the hand to belong to Qui-Gon, and he sighed shakily as he leaned into his master. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes and shutting out the world for a few seconds as he recomposed himself.

“Are you alright,” Qui-Gon asked once his padawan looked back up at him.

“Not really,” Obi-Wan admitted. “I want to go back to the ship.”

“We can go back soon. The Toydarian is being difficult anyways.” The master gave his padawan a reassuring squeeze of his shoulder. “Take it easy.”

Obi-Wan nodded and took another deep breath.

The boy from the shop came up to the two Jedi, tugging lightly at Qui-Gon’s tunics. The two had a small conversation, to which Obi-Wan ignored for the most part as he calmed himself. Then Qui-Gon gained his attention and explained that they were going to the boy’s home. There was a sand storm brewing and it would be too dangerous to head back to the ship.

Obi-Wan noticeably deflated, his hope for recovering from the sands leaving him.

“Don’t worry,” Qui-Gon reassured. “We will return to the ship before you know it.”

The small group made it to the boy’s home, a cozy place with only a few rooms to its name. Obi-Wan compared it to the rooms in Jedi temples dedicated for masters and padawans to live together in.

An older woman showed her face to the group. She looked younger than Qui-Gon, but not as young as Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan thought she was pretty, and that the boy who was clearly her son looked exactly like her.

There was some chatter between everyone except Obi-Wan, though at one point Qui-Gon gestured to him, which the padawan assumed his master was telling the woman about his deafness. Obi-Wan didn’t mind it, as long as Qui-Gon gave his name along with the facts, not just being introduced as Qui-Gon’s deaf padawan. Obi-Wan had expressed before that he didn’t like being introduced like that.

The woman turned to Obi-Wan and smiled at him, waving slightly. Obi-Wan smiled and waved back.

As the end of the very hot day came to a close, Obi-Wan decided to grab some sleep, Qui-Gon thankfully allowing him to do so. He had been sleeping rather well, having been drained by the heat of the twin suns, until a large rumbling stirred him from his sleep. Confused as to where the rumbling was coming from, Obi-Wan sat up from the hard bed he had been sleeping in, the one belonging to the woman, and he stretched before he got up and followed the vibrations outside. 

There he found the boy, the woman, Qui-Gon, and Padmé all smiling as the boy sat in the pilot’s seat of a podracer. Obi-Wan blinked, looking towards Qui-Gon when his master noticed he was awake.

“Come here,” Qui-Gon motioned, and Obi-Wan obeyed, careful to stay clear of the racer’s engines.

“This is going to help us get off Tatooine,” Qui-Gon explained. 

“A podracer? Is the boy racing it,” Obi-Wan asked.

“Yes, and if he wins, we will have the money to get the parts for the ship we need. Then we can head to Coruscant and be free of the Trade Federation’s doting.”

Obi-Wan smiled. “Home.”

“Yes, home.” Qui-Gon wrapped his arm around Obi-Wan’s shoulder and pulled him closer. “Soon, we’ll go home.”

The pod race was probably the most exciting and most terrifying thing Obi-Wan has ever watched. Even from high above the ground, the podracers were rumbling and vibrating with such intensity that Obi-Wan was almost overwhelmed by their power.

Seeing the podracers fly by was exhilarating, and Obi-Wan was having the time of his life. He wasn’t aware of how dire the situation was, however. All he knew was that if the boy won, they were leaving. He didn’t know the bets that had been made on the boy and his mother, or that if the boy lost, they would be stuck on Tatooine for a very long time. No, all Obi-Wan knew was he was going to cheer the boy on to winning.

Luckily, the boy did win, and the right parts for the ship were obtained. Obi-Wan was quite happy that they were finally going to get off the dustball of a planet that was Tatooine. He was more than ready to go home.

Obi-Wan didn’t notice that after the race the boy was pulled away by the Toydarian, the two Jedi and the handmaiden seeing the boy and his mother for the last time.

Obi-Wan was happy to finally work on the ship’s hyperdrive and be out of the sun and the sand. He was pretty sure his face and neck were pink and very heated. He made a mental note to put some bacta patches on once he was done with the hyperdrive. 

With the hyperdrive fixed and bacta patches on his sunburns, Obi-Wan informed his master that the ship was ready to go. Qui-Gon smiled and praised him before they seated themselves and launched out of Tatooine’s atmosphere, Obi-Wan hoping it was the last time they would ever have to do so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this update is so late asdjgbsdaj but I'm unsure about the ending of this chapter, so in the future I may fix it. For now, this will do for me. Also sorry this chapter is a bit shorter than my normal chapters. I'll make up for it with a double update lol


	3. Chapter 3

_A little more than10 years later..._

 

Obi-Wan stifled a yawn that had been building up for most of the Council meeting. The topic of discussion was the coming war, closer than everyone had previously realized. All this talk would interest Obi-Wan greatly… if he had a translator to tell him exactly what the other Jedi were saying.

Since Qui-Gon’s death, Obi-Wan had been working on reading lips, but often he found that it was hard work and it frustrated him most of the time. Thus, he zoned out and grew sleepy during most of the meetings. He had no interpreter since his master’s death, and it had left him in the dark for many years before he began reading lips better.

Before he knew it the members of the Council were standing up and leaving. Obi-Wan sighed and sank into his chair, closing his eyes for a bit before he sat back up and got out of his chair.

Outside the Council room, the other Jedi insisted on talking a little to him. They did their best to sign with him. Thankfully, he was patient with them and taught them the correct sign if they made the wrong one. Still, the conversations were quite short. Long discussion were a thing of the past unfortunately, and Obi-Wan wished that he could have done something more to keep his master alive. Then maybe he wouldn’t be so alone in the noisy world he couldn’t hear.

Once all the masters were finished talking with him, Obi-Wan headed off to his apartment. He figured that a nap was in store for him, considering how tired he had been during the meeting. Not being able to understand the other Jedi was partly to blame, but also he had not been sleeping well recently. There was a face haunting him in his sleep, one of a young boy that he had once knew. A boy that was so far back in his memories Obi-Wan was surprised to find he still remembered the boy.

The boy who had golden hair and the widest smile. It made Obi-Wan smile as he continued on his way to his apartment. He didn’t get much further before an old friend came up beside him and waved to grab his attention.

Obi-Wan blinked and stopped, smiling when he recognized the friend as Luminara Unduli. He waved back to her, giving her his full attention. “Hello Luminara.”

“How was the meeting,” the Mirialan woman asked with a smile.

Obi-Wan shrugged. “I didn’t get a lot of the information like usual. I think I read lips better today.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I wish I could have been there.”

Obi-Wan waved his hand to dismiss the topic. Luminara knew a lot more signs than the other Jedi, so longer conversations were much enjoyed by the redhead. However, she still didn’t know as much as Qui-Gon had come to learn over the years.

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault they won’t let you be an interpreter for me.”

“I still feel bad,” Luminara signed with a sigh. “I am the only one here who knows enough signing to be your interpreter.”

“I know, but you’re not guaranteed to be around all the time. I need an interpreter who can be by my side at…” Obi-Wan’s hands slowed until he wasn’t speaking anything but nonsense. A person had caught his eye. A tall Jedi in dark cloaks that he had never seen before, and yet his Force signature felt familiar.

Luminara looked over to where Obi-Wan’s gaze fell. She smiled, knowing the new Jedi knight who had just finished his padawan trials a year before.

The Jedi’s golden hair was just barely grown out of the padawan haircut, naturally curled on the ends. He wore a single glove on one arm, skin tanned from the suns, body well-built and tall. When he turned just enough, blue eyes sparkled with a scar over one of them, two smaller scars were on the opposite cheek. And then he turned to look at Obi-Wan directly, and that was when the redhead recognized him.

Obi-Wan blinked, eyes wide as he saw the boy he once knew now a grown man.

Their eyes lingered for a bit before the tall Jedi smirked and turned back to the other Jedi he was talking to. Obi-Wan felt his cheeks heat up just a bit. How did that small desert boy turn into a man the gods could be jealous of?

Luminara nudged Obi-Wan with her elbow, a smirk on her lips, and Obi-Wan just shook his head and turned away, walking once more towards his apartment.

“What were you saying,” Luminara asked once she was caught up to her friend once more.

“That I need an interpreter who can be with me at all times.” Obi-Wan sighed and glanced over his shoulder, finding the new Jedi gone from sight. “Otherwise I’m in the dark without a clue about what is going on.”

Luminara nodded. “I wish we could go on more missions together. I think it would be easier on you.”

“Maybe. But I’m hardly allowed to have anyone else with me on missions, and I don’t go on very many missions. I wanted to become a Jedi and help the galaxy, but I can’t help by sitting here at the temple the whole time. There’s a damn war on the horizon! The galaxy needs all the Jedi it can get, including me.”

Luminara gave a sad smile to her friend. “I wish the Council would see you as more useful. I hate seeing you cooped up here all the time.”

Obi-Wan shrugged. “I’ve learned to live with it I guess.” He shook his head as he stopped in front of the door to his apartment in the temple. “I’m going to meditate for the rest of the day, since that’s the only thing I’ve really gotten good at over the years.”

“Don’t beat yourself up too hard, Obi-Wan.” Luminara hugged her friend, happy when she felt him hug her back. And then he disappeared into his room, leaving the Mirialan alone in front of her friend’s door. She sighed and headed off to the archives.

Back inside his own room, Obi-Wan sat down heavily on his meditation mat and looked out at the Coruscant skyline. It had been years since he last left the planet’s atmosphere. He was eager to get out once more and have an adventure, but without Qui-Gon around to guide him, the Council deemed it safer for him to stay on-planet and be a good Jedi from the temple. Hell, he was hardly allowed to leave the temple. He was deaf, not blind. He could see where he was going. He knew how to fly. And yet the Council saw him as unable to leave the temple without someone with him.

Obi-Wan frowned, balling his hands into fists as he felt his anger and frustration rise. All he wanted was to be able to hear. It would have made his life much easier, and maybe being able to hear would have prevented Qui-Gon from dying.

Tears sprang up in the corners of his eyes, and he grabbed the nearest pillow and chucked it at the wall. He brought his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, crying silent, angry tears. It wasn’t fair. Obi-Wan had so much potential, and yet he had to be born deaf. It just wasn’t fair!

Obi-Wan stood up and shoved away the mat he was on.

“Stupid,” he signed angrily.

After taking a bit to calm down, Obi-Wan grabbed the mat and put it back in his place, picking up any items that had knocked over in his anger. As a padawan, he was always told to release his frustration and anger into the Force, but sometimes meditation just couldn’t work for him. It was frustrating being a deaf Jedi. Many days he had longed to know what Coruscant sounded like, what it sounded like to talk to his friends and hear their voices. He wanted to hear that hum of his lightsaber that he could feel, the way his hand kicked back when the blade was ignited and then hummed so evenly. For hours he would strain his ears to try to hear something. Of course, every time he was met with silence, and every time it left him saddened.

Obi-Wan sighed and thought to himself, forgive me. He looked out the window, hoping that Qui-Gon could hear him in death. I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m so frustrated…

Obi-Wan watched several speeders go by. To have the freedom to escape would have been nice, but he knew the Order would have never let him go out on his own. Still… maybe a trip through the city would help him.

 

-x-

 

Christophsis. It was the next station for battle in the war. Obi-Wan read lips intently, trying to gain all the information he could about his next mission. He was to meet a few other Jedi there, though who he was not able to tell. The Jedi were to help the trapped natives of the planet, to aid them in defending their home from the invasion. Bail Organa had already been helping in the relief effort, but as the invasion grew worse, it was decided that Jedi presence was needed on Cristophsis.

Obi-Wan knew mostly of what he was to do. He knew that he’d get the aid of some clone troopers. He smiled as he remembered that he had a friend in the commander assigned to him, Cody. Cody was a fine trooper that had made an effort to learn to communicate with Obi-Wan via signing. He still had much to learn, but he had learned quickly all that he knew. Obi-Wan had to guess if was the enhanced genetics that made him learn faster. The Jedi wasn’t about to complain.

The Council meeting ended soon after, and Obi-Wan went to prepare himself for the trip to Cristophsis. He touched his lightsaber with a sigh, nervous about the battle he was sure was brewing on the invaded planet.

Stay strong, he told himself. This was just another mission. He could handle it.

But could he really?

Ever since Qui-Gon’s death, Obi-Wan had been terrified to fly. He had never been the one to fly ships when he went on missions with his master. He could never hear the traffic going on around him, and it always scared him when he was flying and suddenly a fast speeder zipped around him. The vibrations in the air were always the worst. All would be calm, and then the calm would be shredded apart by the roar of another speeder. It scared Obi-Wan so bad at one point that he nearly crashed his speeder.

His nerves started to get the best of him. His stomach churned as he packed up a few changes of clothes and some food rations.

I can do this, he repeated to himself over and over. Yes, he was quite nervous about the flight to Cristophsis. He was going alone for now. His clones would come in soon after he landed, and it was probably for the better. Obi-Wan didn’t want to do something stupid in front of his troopers.

Before he reached the hangar, Obi-Wan was stopped by Master Yoda. The troll smiled up at him, and though no words were spoken between them, there was an understanding that made Obi-Wan feel at least a little better. He nodded at the grandmaster and looked into the hangar. His ship awaited him, fueled up and ready to fly.

A few words trickled into his mind. Not his own words, yet they didn’t have a definite voice to them. Just the ghosts of words almost.

May the Force be with you.

Obi-Wan’s smile grew, and he took a deep breath before moving towards his ship. This was a moment of truth really. It had been months since Obi-Wan last flew. He remembered how to do everything, but it was more a matter of if his body remembered how to do it. There were so many switches involved, so many buttons. It had been overwhelming at first, but over time Obi-Wan had learned how to properly fly.

On the ship, Obi-Wan took his things to the back where there was a small private bedroom. It would at least provide him with a place of meditation when he put the ship on autopilot. Then it was to the cockpit and into the pilot’s seat. From there he could see the few clones that had been running maintenance, the old Jedi who had wished him luck, and another figure than Obi-Wan had ignored in favor of turning to the ships controls and firing it up. He felt the familiar rumble as the ship roared to life. He soon got the all clear signal from the clones, and he nodded and looked back over at Yoda and the other figure. It was the tall Jedi from before, the one that had caught Obi-Wan’s eye while he had been talking to Luminara.

Obi-Wan blinked, turning back to the controls, now slightly distracted. He pushed through however, and he got the ship up in the air and turned it out of the hangar. Then he was flying above Coruscant’s traffic and out of the atmosphere without so much as a look back at the temple.

The skies of Coruscant faded away and were replaced by the numerous stars of the heavens. It brought a smile to Obi-Wan’s face. It had been a while since he had actually been in space, and the sight always took his breath away. His ship rotated and he could see the whole of Coruscant. Glittering lights covered the planet’s whole surface. Maybe sometime in the future the planet’s stability would be questioned as more and more people grew to live there, but it was something to worry over far ahead in the future.

As he fawned over the stars, a message from the hangar pinged on his ship. It reminded him of where he was going, giving him the exact coordinates. There was a blockade he would have to maneuver around, but maybe he wasn’t worried about landing on the planet just yet. He had to survey the blockade and report in before he was allowed to land. And besides, he wouldn’t be landing his own starship. He’d be going down to the planet’s surface with his troopers, and with the other Jedi. All that would happen as soon as the blockade was down, and Obi-Wan only hoped that would go smoothly.

The hyperdrive of the ship fired up after Obi-Wan confirmed the coordinates of where he was to drop out of hyperspace. He harnessed himself in, making sure the straps were secured tightly before he punched the button to launch him into hyperspace. He grunted as the force of the jump pushed him into his seat. For a moment, he felt very light-headed, and then the pressure equalized and he could sit properly in the seat without being pushed into it.

Obi-Wan sighed and simply watched the blue streaks of hyperspace fly by. It was moments like this where he allowed himself to try to listen, wishfully think that maybe this time if he tried hard enough, he could hear the ship roar.

Just like always, he couldn’t hear the ship. Obi-Wan lowered his eyebrows. He should have known that he wasn’t going to hear anything, but it still disappointed him every time. He wanted to hear his own voice, wanted to hear others, but that luxury just wasn’t in the cards for him. The galaxy hadn’t deemed it necessary for him to hear anything.

Obi-Wan unbuckled his harness and stood up, stretching and being careful not to lose his balance. Even with the ship’s pressure equalized and his body accustomed to moving faster than the speed of light, the speed still was enough to make walking around a little disorienting. He paced in the cockpit for a bit, getting used to the speed, and then he headed back to the bedroom, if one could call it that. It was just a bed bolted to the wall with a small refresher and the tiniest window for his viewing pleasure of the stars, or his case when he walked in the room, hyperspace.

He splashed some water on his face in the refresher, hoping to keep his mind off the tall Jedi he had only been able to glance at a couple times. Obi-Wan was failing miserably.

Obi-Wan had never seen that Jedi before. He had looked young enough to be a fairly new knight. If he was any younger, Obi-Wan would have assumed him to still be a padawan, though he looked a bit too old to be one. Obi-Wan wondered just how long that Jedi had been a knight.

Sighing, Obi-Wan flopped onto the bed, looking up at the ceiling with a blank expression. His thoughts wandered a bit, from memories of Qui-Gon, to his bed back at home, to Luminara and the next time he would see her, to the tall Jedi once more. He shook his head, expression now one of annoyance, maybe a hint of pink on his cheeks. Okay, yeah, the tall Jedi was a little attractive, but Obi-Wan didn’t think much of it. Some people were just attractive. That was it. There was no attachment of any kind that Obi-Wan felt towards the fellow Jedi, only a bit of attraction and an urge to…

Well, at least he had a long trip ahead of him.

Obi-Wan closed his eyes and groaned. Maybe he was thinking too hard about the tall Jedi. Maybe he was thinking too hard about a lot of things, not just the Jedi, he reminded himself. Not all of his thoughts were about the Jedi now, though most of them were… much to his disappointment.

He huffed and sat back up, blowing a lock of hair out of his face. Obi-Wan was a proper Jedi. He didn’t let his emotions get the best of him. Most of the time.

Being deaf is hard, he told himself. Surely the Order understands that I get frustrated when I can’t hear anything.

An alert light went off in the cockpit, catching Obi-Wan's attention. It wasn’t a warning or anything, probably just an update to the mission. With another groan, Obi-Wan got up and went to check out the new information. It was telling him when his troopers would be arriving and when the other Jedi would be there to assist him. Names were given to him, names he didn’t recognize. New Jedi. They had to be. Obi-Wan knew almost all of the elder Jedi at the temple, and most his age he knew as well. He grew up with them, so of course he grew to know them over time. These two names he read now were completely unfamiliar to him. He sighed. He’d have to set a good example for the younger Jedi he was receiving as help.

He left the message up as he went back to the bedroom to lie back down. The two names were kept up, bold and in bright red letters.

Anakin Skywalker. Human male.

Ahsoka Tano. Togruta female.


	4. Chapter 4

“There’s a blockade around Cristophsis right now. We have Master Kenobi heading there to scope out the situation, and as soon as he contacts us, we will send you to out to him with yours and his troopers.”

Anakin and Ahsoka stood side by side, almost the same height as each other, waiting and listening to their mission briefing. They knew Master Kenobi had left the day before to Cristophsis, Anakin having watched him with Master Yoda take off and exist Coruscant’s atmosphere. The mysterious Master Kenobi had only been mentioned to both young Jedi a couple of times. Both had seen him roaming about the halls of the temple if they were ever on Coruscant. Rumors floated round about him, but neither Anakin nor Ahsoka knew if any of the rumors were true. All they knew was that Master Kenobi was quiet and kept to himself most of the time.

“Once you arrive at the blockade,” Master Windu continued, “You will attack it full force. The people of Cristophsis need support immediately, so the sooner you break the blockade, the better.”

“So this is a relief effort mission then,” Anakin asked.

“To a point. We expect a full on battle to occur once you reach the surface. Senator Organa is doing all he can for you right now. Hopefully when you reach Cristophsis, you won’t have much trouble helping the people.”

Anakin and Ahsoka both bowed towards their masters and left the room, intending to prepare themselves for when Master Kenobi called in.

“How long do you think it’ll be before we’re called to leave,” Ahsoka asked her friend.

Anakin shrugged. “Dunno, Snips. I expect soon, but if Master Kenobi is surveying the blockade without being seen, it may take a little longer than we’re expecting.”

“Fair enough.” Ahsoka nodded, smiling as a bunch of younglings ran past the two of them, one little Nautolan pausing to look at Ahsoka. She could hear him say she was pretty very quietly before he ran to catch up with his friends.

“For now, all we can do is wait,” Anakin said with a smile. “You must be patient.”

Ahsoka stifled her laughter at Anakin’s terrible impression of Master Windu. “You know he can probably hear you.”

Anakin shrugged with a smirk. “Not my concern. I’m just a knight trying to do my job.”

“Right, keep telling yourself that, Skyguy.”

“What? It’s true!”

Ahsoka snorted. “You do everything but your job most of the time.”

Anakin waved his hand in denial. “That’s just how you see it.”

“Uh huh.” Ahsoka rolled her eyes with a laugh. “Anyways, we should probably get our stuff packed together so we’re ready whenever they call us. Make sure Rex and his guys are ready, I’ll check on Caracal.”

Anakin nodded. “Meet back for dinner tonight?”

“You bet. I’m not skipping out on a good meal tonight. Nutrient rations aren’t the best things to live on.” Ahsoka smirked and went on her way to meet with her clone commander.

 

-x-

 

Obi-Wan strained his eyes. There were ships as far as he could see in the blockade. It would certainly take some effort to break, and lots of fire power. Fire power he didn’t have.

He sighed, sinking into his seat as he turned away from the blockade, escaping to a safe distance. There was no way he was going to be able to count all the ships before he needed to make a status report. He supposed he could just do a guess and call it good. There were quite a lot after all. It was a job for many ships and people to take down this blockade.

Making up his mind, Obi-Wan began typing up his status report, making sure to note that he wasn’t able to count the seemingly endless number of ships. He would have made a holorecording, but he figured that typing something for the Council to read would have been much easier on them. Not everyone knew the many signs he spoke in unfortunately.

With the report typed up and ready, Obi-Wan sent it off to be reported.

There were just so many ships in the blockade. What was so important on Cristophsis that needed a blockade of this size? It was probably classified larger than what the classification scale held, which made Obi-Wan all the more nervous about attacking it head on like the Council wanted to happen. It was almost a suicide mission to attack head on like that, and Obi-Wan wasn’t about to die in a space battle that was unnecessary in the first place. He much rather wanted to die an old man in a safe environment such as his apartment in his bed or in a medical ward in a bed. Either way, he wanted to die in a bed peacefully and much farther in the future.

A small indicator went off notifying that the report went through to the Council. Obi-Wan looked out the viewport of the ship he was in. For a long moment, he was blank of all thoughts. Nothing ran through his head for quite some time, and he preferred it that way. Being silent in mind as well as in tongue was probably the most peaceful state to be in. Silence was what Obi-Wan liked in high tension moments like the one he was in.

 

-x-

 

Anakin and Ahsoka both looked up from their datapads as their coms went off. Master Kenobi’s report was in. Both looked at each other and smiled as they threw down their datapads and gathered their packed belongings. Off they rushed to the ship laying in wait for them, tossing their things on and heading up to the Council room to be briefed one last time before their mission started.

What they didn’t expect was the mission report from Master Kenobi to be typed up rather than sent as a holorecording. Still, it didn’t bother the two of them too much.

“Wow, that’s… a lot of ships,” Master Windu commented as he read over the report with the rest of the Council, plus Anakin and Ahsoka.

“That barrier is massive,” Ahsoka commented. “How are we supposed to attack that thing?”

“A head on attack would be a suicide run,” Anakin added.

“Perhaps we should consider pulling back from attacking and let the citizens of Cristophsis handle this,” Windu mumbled, to which he was met with a dissatisfied grunt from Master Yoda.

“Help Cristophsis, we will. Back down, we will not,” the old master said towards Windu.

“I agree,” Anakin said. “We have to help them. They’ve gone long enough without any help, I think they deserve at least some relief efforts.”

The room was silent for a bit as Windu made his decision. Finally he nodded with a sigh. “We will send you and you troops out there. Master Kenobi’s will be sent as well, so you’re both in charge of them and making sure they behave.”

“Don’t worry, those clones are good men under a good general.” Anakin smirked as he shifted his weight. “I doubt they’ll cause any trouble.”

“We will keep a close eye on them though,” Ahsoka added to ease the masters on the Council.

“Of course.” Anakin nodded in agreement.

“Then go, you two,” Master Windu said. “Make haste. Master Kenobi needs your help out there.”

Anakin and Ahsoka both nodded and headed to the ship once more. Their hearts raced with the excitement of a new adventure. Sure the blockade was massive, but with as many clones and Jedi they had planned for the attack, taking down the blockade suddenly seemed a whole lot easier.

Anakin took his place in the pilot’s seat, Ahsoka his co-pilot. They had flown together for years, even while they were still padawans under their masters. The two had become close friends when Anakin was admitted into the Order at an age typically too old to be admitted. It made Anakin feel awkward and unable to fit in, but when the young Togruta girl had come up to him with a smile, he knew he was going to be able to fit in a lot easier.

“You ready to see this massive blockade,” Anakin asked his companion.

“Of course. Ready as I’ll ever be.” Ahsoka patted the two lightsabers she had, one on each hip, after she had strapped herself in for the jump to hyperspace.

“Same. I’m a bit worried, but I think we’ll be fine once we assess the situation.”

Ahsoka nodded. “Onward then. Lead us to the blockade!”

And with that, Anakin sent the ship flying into hyperspace, the much larger star destroyers housing the clones following right behind.

Arriving finally at Christophsis, Anakin sank into his seat. The blockade as indeed as massive as Master Kenobi had described. Ships that were seemingly endless and ranging in various sizes and classes. It was a blockade that seemed to be unbreakable, and that worried Anakin greatly.

A message was sent to Master Kenobi’s ship to report to one of the flagships, the one housing most of the clones, and the one that Anakin and Ahsoka were to meet the master at. They would be safe inside the star destroyers at the safe distance beyond the blockade. All things considered, they were lucky they weren’t being shot at yet, and everyone was thankful of that.

Anakin and Ahsoka were the first ones to arrive on the star destroyer. They didn’t have a signal as to where Master Kenobi was, but they knew he at least had gotten their message. All there was left to do was wait.

It wasn’t long before Master Kenobi’s ship docked. Clone Captain Rex and Commanders Cody and Caracal joined the two younger Jedi as they waited for the older to reveal himself, and sure enough, the elusive Master Jedi made himself known to his fellow Jedi. His stride was gentle, easy, graceful even, as if he were afraid to step on a small unsuspecting bug. The gracefulness caught Anakin off guard a little. All the stories he had heard about this strong Jedi master made Master Kenobi seem like a beast of a man, but here he was, now standing in front of Anakin and Ahsoka, smaller than Anakin and very, very silent.

“Master Kenobi,” Ahsoka said as she bowed, showing her respects to the master. “I hope you didn’t have too much trouble while you waited for us. It sounds like the blockade is a lot tougher to deal with than we originally thought.”

Obi-Wan seemed to look a little overwhelmed. To anyone else’s knowledge, his reaction would have thought to have been due to the words being spoken to him that he didn’t hear. But inside, he was surprised to see the desert boy in front of him once more. The blue eyes, the golden hair, the scars, all the same as they were when Obi-Wan saw the tall Jedi while with Luminara. He swallowed heavily and looked to Cody.

Cody stepped forward. “I apologize, Sirs, I forgot to mention General Kenobi is deaf. He can read lips a little but not enough to carry out full conversation with.”

“Oh, can he sign?” Anakin looked hopeful at the clone commander. He knew some signing in Basic from his time on Tatooine. He hadn’t found it useful except for a few customers that had come into Watto’s shop. Anakin silently thanked his mother for helping him learn.

Cody blinked. “Yeah, that’s how he talks. Do you sign?”

Anakin nodded with a smile, then he turned to Master Kenobi. “Hello,” he greeted.

There was a flash of slight panic as Obi-Wan realized the desert boy could sign. His eyes widened a little before he quickly signed, “Hello,” back.

“I’m Anakin Skywalker, what’s your name?” Anakin tried to ignore the way the other Jedi looked at him.

“Obi-Wan Kenobi. Pleasure to meet you.” Obi-Wan calmed a little, looking less shocked and more relaxed, much to Anakin’s delight.

“The pleasure is all mine, Master.” Anakin bowed slightly.

Cody watched the two greet each other with a smile. “Glad to see you know your signs as well, General Skywalker. I think you know them better than I do.”

Anakin turned to Cody and smiled. “My mother taught me how to sign before I came to the Order. She had me practice a lot of the time.” He turned back to Obi-Wan and signed what he had said to Cody.

Obi-Wan nodded. “So you have been signing for a long time?”

“Yes, I have. I don’t want to brag, but I think I have a pretty good grasp at it.”

“You really do. It’s comforting.” Obi-Wan smiled. “I assume you were the one to send the message for me to meet you all here.”

Anakin nodded. “Yes. I think we need to talk about how we go about taking on the blockade. I can interpret the conversation for you if you like.”

Obi-Wan blinked. “Yes, I would like that, thank you.”

“Great. Then let’s get started.” Anakin turned to the rest of the group, making sure his hands were clearly visible to Obi-Wan. “So obviously we can’t just charge right into the blockade,” he started speaking while also signing. “A sneak attack might not be the best option, but right now I can’t think of anything better. This blockade is going to be a lot tougher to take down than originally thought.”

“I think the Council may have mentioned something about a stealth shield,” Ahsoka said with Anakin interpreting for Obi-Wan. “But I don’t know for sure if we really have that available or not to us.”

“We do have stealth technology on our side,” Cody spoke up. “A prototype ship, if I understand correctly.”

Obi-Wan nodded, bringing his hands up to sign. “We have a ship, and it should be with us on one of these Star Destroyers. It’s this one that we are on right now if I’m correct. It should be towards the other end of the hangar.”

Anakin smiled. “Then we should go and see it for ourselves.”

The group of six, three Jedi and three clones, made their way over to the prototype stealth ship. It wasn’t the most impressive ship. In fact, it looked rather raggedy, like it might fall apart if someone touched it the wrong way.

Ahsoka looked skeptically at the ship. “You sure this is the ship we’re looking for? Looks a little… unstable.”  
  
Obi-Wan smiled and nodded. “It is a bit rugged, but it does its job well. The stealth function works like a charm.”   
  
“Then let’s see it in action,” Anakin said with a smile. “If this thing works, I think we’ll have a good advantage on the enemy.”   
  
“Months of testing have gone into this stealth ship prototype. It should work.” Obi-Wan reached forward and patted the hull of the ship lightly, a small smile on his lips. “We’ve only tested it on the ground before, but the cloaking device worked quite well. I have high hopes for this ship.”

That seemed to satisfy Anakin. He nodded and smiled at Obi-Wan. “Then we should have no problems getting this thing into space and past the blockade.”

Turning to Rex, Anakin got into battle mode. “Rex get your men ready. Make sure the supplies for the Christophsians is packed up properly and in this ship so it’s ready to be distributed as soon as we get planet-side.”

“Yes, Sir!” Rex saluted and ran off to his men.

Ahsoka made a similar command to Caracal, then stepped closer to Obi-Wan, asking for Anakin to interpret for her. “It’s an honor to meet you finally, Master Kenobi. I’ve heard a great deal about you, but to see you in person is truly a gift.”

Obi-Wan smiled as he took her hand and kissed her knuckles in a gentlemanly fashion before signing, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Knight Tano.”

Ahsoka flushed a little and chuckled. “You’re above and beyond my expectations of you.”

The redhead’s eyes watched the girl’s lips carefully as she spoke, then he let them flicker over to Anakin for the translation to make sure he’d read her lips correctly. It was hard when people spoke quickly, but with an interpreter he didn’t have to worry about missing any key information being shared with him.

“You’re too kind, I’m nothing special.” he quickly responded, his lips moving to try mouthing the words for her. It was something he tried to do on and off. Out the corner of his eye he spotted Anakin studying his hands as they formed his words before his lips also moved, likely letting Ahsoka know what was being said.

“Master Kenobi, the great Negotiator is nothing special? You’re only the most talked about Jedi in the Order right now because of the war. I hadn’t realized why you were talked about so much, but now I understand why.” Ahsoka smiled.

The older Jedi looked confused at that before he started speaking quickly. “Noone talks about me, and I do very little for the Republic. I’m stuck Temple-bound most of the time since my master passed into the Force. War or not, I’m practically useless…” his hands slowly lowered as his face flushed. He’d never expressed his self doubt before to another, and didn’t know why he’d felt so comfortable unloading it onto these two strangers.

Ahsoka tilted her head a little. “So you’re not the Negotiator then? You are Master Kenobi, correct?”

“I am, but I’ve never been called the Negotiator to my knowledge. I get out more with the war, but never alone. I always have help. Communication with people who don’t know how to sign is...difficult.”

The Toguta looked at Anakin with a confused expression.

“I’m fairly certain that Master Kenobi and The Negotiator are synonymous,” Anakin said with an expression similar to Ahsoka’s. “But I suppose that doesn’t entirely matter right now. What matters is getting our troops ready for possible battle. There’s no guarantee that this stealth ship will work properly.”

Ahsoka nodded. “You’re right. I’ll meet you guys back here when we’re ready to take off.”

“She’ll work.” Obi-Wan said before reaching out to pat the side of the ship, “She’s our secret weapon in this.”

“Cody did mention it was a prototype. Not that it means it won’t work, but it is still a prototype.” Anakin shrugged as he looked at the ship, then he looked back at Obi-Wan. “I need to get some things ready as well. Ahsoka and I will meet you back here in half an hour.”

As Obi-Wan watched the other Jedi leave, he caught sight of the smirk and the wink Anakin gave him, causing his face to flush. Rubbing his face to try and calm the heat in his cheeks, he let out an airy sigh and moved over towards Cody.

Why did his face have such a heat problem whenever he saw the tall, blue-eyed, golden-haired Jedi? It wasn’t like Anakin was the first incredibly handsome man he’d worked alongside.

The half hour Anakin had mentioned passed by rather quickly, and soon all three Jedi were gathered near the stealth ship once more. Their troops were packed and ready, waiting in their own ships they would eventually travel down to the surface of Christophsis once they got past the blockade. Even with the whole plan mapped out, they all knew it was going to be a tough battle.

Anakin, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan all climbed aboard the stealth ship, Anakin taking the seat as the pilot once they got to the cockpit. The ship was up and out of the hangar quickly, the young Jedi proving to be quite skilled at piloting.

Just like he had proven so on Tatooine, Obi-Wan thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man I apologize for such irregular updates sdjghlagkj


	5. Chapter 5

The whole ship rocked violently as blasterfire from the blockade’s ships hit the hull. Obi-Wan gripped tightly the copilot’s seat as he was thrown over and over against his harness. The movement alone was enough to scare him, so the amount of sound he could have heard would have only added to his terror.

He saw Anakin speaking, yelling, Obi-Wan was sure. He saw Ahsoka run to the back of the ship, Obi-Wan sure she was also yelling. There was too much going on for him to handle, he didn’t know how to take it all in, and he found himself wanting to grab hold of the nearest person and close his eyes to block out the world around him completely. It was something he had done as a child and as a padawan. He remembered the first time he had grabbed hold of Qui-Gon when the galaxy became too much for him. The kind man has been confused at first, but then he had held Obi-Wan tight and pet his hair comfortingly. Obi-Wan swallowed, realizing that the reassuring touches were all he wanted in that moment, and he flushed when he realized that the closest person to him was Anakin.

There was little Obi-Wan could do. He didn’t have access to guns or piloting controls. All he could do was sit in the copilot seat of the stealth prototype ship and hope for the best of the situation.

That poor little ship was taking a beating. The cloaking device had worked for the most part, but it had failed as soon as the ship just barely breached the blockade. Now Anakin was expertly piloting the ship with Ahsoka at the guns, weaving between the blockade’s ship and gunning them down as they passed. At the very least, they were attempting to make a path for the clones’ gunships. Already so many gunships had been lost, floating off in space with rations desperately needed by the people of Christophsis.

“Ahsoka, how are we doing,” Anakin asked as he moved the ship to dodge blasterbolts.

“Not good, Skyguy! We’ve got enemies on our tails and we can’t shake them! I keep trying to hit them, but they move too quickly. I can’t shoot any of them down!”

Anakin grunted. “Okay, hold on back there!” He turned to Obi-Wan and quickly signed, “Hold on!”

Obi-Wan braced himself before the ship started rolling several times, guns firing at the front and back of the ship. Enemies whizzed by and attacked the three Jedi. Everything spun so fast, Obi-Wan closed  his eyes to prevent himself from getting sick. He forced down that feeling that was rising in his throat.

Finally they stopped spinning, but the danger was not over yet. Now there were more ships on their tail, and Anakin was clearly panicking. He tried desperately to throw off the enemies, but nothing was working. Everything was closing in on the ship, enemies growing close menacingly with blaster fire shooting at them and not letting up. One shot connected with the ship, jolting the three Jedi inside away from the controls.

Obi-Wan’s harness gave way, and he was tossed across the cockpit rather violently with Anakin. From the back of the ship, Ahsoka was also flung from her seat and away from the guns. The ship went out of control quickly, the guns jammed and useless.

“Snips, you okay back there?” Anakin helped Obi-Wan to his feet as he called out to his friend.

“Yeah, just a little beat up! Guns are down now, and I don’t have the time to fix them.” Ahsoka ran back up front to the cockpit, panting slightly. “We’re weaponless until we get somewhere safe.”

Anakin looked down at the control panel as he took the ships controls once more. “Looks like our shields are down too. We need to get out of here.”

Obi-Wan looked out the viewport of the cockpit, noting how there were at least a lower number of ships. Republic gunships were getting through with little damage, and that brought relief to the older Jedi. He climbed back into the copilot’s seat and watched as Ahsoka quickly worked with the control panel, relaying a message probably.

It was then that he realized that Anakin and Ahsoka didn’t know they had an opportunity, that the Republic was getting through the blockade. He waved his hands to get their attention, then pointed out the viewport at the gunships making their way down to the surface of Christophsis. “Look!” he said without knowing if they caught his words in his rush to show them what they had been missing.

Anakin glanced at Obi-Wan, then he looked out to where the older man had been pointing. A small smile crept onto his lips. “They’re getting through. We helped them at least a little.”

“Then if they’re getting through, we should follow before we get shot down,” Ahsoka suggested. “We  _ are _ vulnerable right now.”

“Yeah, yeah, sit tight.” Anakin lurched the ship forward, following the gunships that made their way down, the blockade’s ships busy with blaster fire from the Star Destroyers.

Obi-Wan watched out the window as they approached the planet’s atmosphere. Almost there, almost to safety. He felt himself relax just a little, eager to get out of the ship and onto solid ground again. To help planetside.

He’d relaxed too soon. With a terrifying vibration, the ship lurched and began to spiral downward, already in the gravitational pull of the planet. He looked to Anakin, watching the young man struggle to regain control, but nothing he did seemed to make a difference. Obi-Wan’s first guess was that their engines had been taken out.

Anakin struggled to gain control of the ship again. It was almost a lost cause, the ship having been hit by enemy fire and sent careening down to the planet’s surface.

Realizing there was nothing to do but hope they survive the crash, Obi-Wan reached out, gripping Anakin’s arm as he watched the planet’s surface get steadily closer at too fast a pace. A touch of comfort, though he didn’t know if it was for himself, or an offer to Anakin. Perhaps it was both? All he knew was that the contact did help prepare him for the impact that they would experience in...three...two….one.

Time seemed to both slow down and speed up at the same time as he lost that contact with Anakin and the straps holding him to his chair, bruising his chest and hips due to his body bouncing around in the seat with each tree and rock they crashed through before settling on the ground, embedded deep enough for the cracked viewport to be half buried in the dirt.

Obi-Wan’s throat vibrated as he gave a rare audible groan of pain, his hair in his face as he took a moment to center himself.

The ship groaned and creaked as it settled in its crash site. Bits and pieces of the ship hug loose, broken from the crash, useless. Surely there would have been someone nearby who had seen the crash, or at least heard it.

Nearby, Anakin also groaned, not quite knocked out by the force of the crash, but his vision was spotty, his head light as he came off his panicked adrenaline high. The last thing he had been aware of before the crash was Obi-Wan grabbing him tightly. His grip had been knocked loose, but it still worried Anakin when he realized he wasn’t near Obi-Wan anymore. And he was also not near Ahsoka, his best friend since he joined the Order.

“Ahsoka? Are you okay?” Anakin struggled to get up, feeling his legs weakly hold him up. He was sure they were at least bruised. 

No answer came. The downed ship silent apart from the creaking and whining of strained metal. Anakin’s voice bounced back, but Ahsoka’s didn’t join it.

In the back where she had been trying to help them regain control, Ahsoka had been unaware of just how fast they were coming down. She hadn’t gotten to a safety harness in time and instead took on the full beating the crash had to give. She lay on the floor, unmoving, and not even a pained groan escaping her lips as blood slowly pooled around her. 

Anakin sighed and instead turned his attention to finding Obi-Wan. He was relieved when he found the man awake and mostly unharmed. He unfastened the harness around the redhead and helped him to his feet. “Are you okay,” he questioned with his hands.

“I...think so.” the redhead responded slowly. Certainly he was shaken and battered, but over all he was sure he’d pull through. “Where’s Ahsoka?”

“I tried calling for her, but she didn't respond. She should still be in the back.” He gestured for Obi-Wan to follow him. “Let's go check on her.”

Nodding, Obi-Wan stepped carefully over debris and sparking wires as he followed Anakin’s lead.

Together the two made their way back to where they knew Ahsoka was. They had to maneuver around other pieces of the ship that were breaking off, and when they finally got around the last broken price, Anakin halted, eyes wide as he looked down at Ahsoka.

Obi-Wan popped up onto his toes and looked around Anakin, his eyes widening before he grabbed Anakin’s attention, “You check on her, I’ll find one of the first aid kits!” he said before hurrying off to where he knew one should be located.

Anakin rushed to Ahsoka, shaking her lightly, and then a little harder to get her to wake up, but Anakin knew she wouldn’t, not for a long while. He looked at all the blood around her, feeling his stomach twist and churn. He had to force down the bile that threatened to come up.

Obi-Wan returned as quickly as he could, the box of medical supplies open in his arm as he searched through it to see what they had available that would help Ahsoka. Bacta patches, linen bandages, anti-bacterial hypo spray… Kneeling by Ahsoka, he set the box aside, “I’ll help. Tell me what you need.”

“Let’s clean up the blood first. I don’t want her to lose much more.” 

Together, they carefully shifted Ahsoka so that they could get to the wound and clean it up. After doing so, they applied bacta patches and wrapped it in bandages to help hold the patches in place. Then they searched for any other injuries that needed to be seen to. The female Jedi Knight also had a broken arm which they set into place with what they had available.

Anakin sighed and sat back once Ahsoka was patched up properly. He was shaking a little, hands covered in dried blood from his best friend. “I can’t believe I let us get hit. I was keeping a sharp eye on everything too, or at least I thought I was.” He shook his head after he finished signing his words, standing up and looking out the back of the crashed ship.

“We were extremely outnumbered, easy to miss a shot or two with that many shooting at us.” Obi-Wan said before handing Anakin a rag to try and clean off his hands with.

The younger man took the rag with a sigh. He cleaned his hands in silence, mulling over his thoughts as he cleaned. He was reminded of the many times he cleaned his hands after working with droids and ship parts. “We should find out how far away from the city we are. If we’re not that far, maybe we can still get some of the supplies back to the civilians, considering some of it wasn’t ruined by the crash.”

“Get Ahsoka to a safer location, too. One of us should go scout out the area, do you want to do that or do you want to stay with Ahsoka and see if the comm is intact or fixable? I’m not great with technology.”

“I’ll stay here then. See what you can find out there, and be careful.” Anakin smiled only slightly as he headed back to the cockpit.

With one last worried glance at Ahsoka, Obi-Wan stood up and found his way out of the wrecked ship to begin searching the surrounding area for signs of a local settlement.

Not much was around the crash site. Some broken trees and rocks resulted from the crash, but other than that, not much else was present besides the normal trees and rocks that were found in a forest. An occasional bird or bug was seen bouncing around. No signs of even a nearby city, no lights in the distance in any direction. The crash had happened too far from any civilized establishment. 

With a small sigh, Obi-Wan ventured out a little further, circling the crash sight just to be sure before he returned to Anakin and Ahsoka to give his report. Nothing further was found.

When Obi-Wan returned, Anakin had parts from the comm spread around him and Ahsoka. He had taken it apart almost down to the bare parts, tinkering with some of them with a very focused expression. He looked up when he heard Obi-Wan return, setting down the parts he had been looking at. “You find anything?”

“Just a lot of broken trees and a few small animals. Looks like we’re stranded.”

Anakin nodded with a sigh. “Well, good news is we have food, water, and medical supplies. Bad news is, none of us are medical droids, and I don't know any healing powers.”

“I know some basic Force Healing, mostly for small injuries. But given enough time and energy I could assist in bone mending.”

Anakin looked surprised. “I actually didn’t know you had some healing training. That could be useful for helping Ahsoka heal quicker.”

“We only just met. But yes, I’ll help Ahsoka as much as I can.”

“I mean, I’ve heard stories about your skills, so it just surprised me that I didn’t hear about your ability to heal until just now.” Anakin shrugged, then nodded to Ahsoka. “Can you do anything with her now?”

Obi-Wan shook his head with a small frown, “I’m a bit too drained from all we have been through. I need rest first. Healing takes a lot of energy I just don’t have right now. At least not for what Ahsoka needs.”

Anakin nodded, understanding. “Rest then. We’ve got nowhere to go until I get this comm fixed.”

“Take care of yourself, and wake me if you heat food.” Obi-Wan agreed. He passed by Anakin, patting his shoulder as he did so, and went to find someplace somewhat comfortable to get some rest.

Anakin smiled over his shoulder as he watched Obi-Wan go, then he refocused on tinkering with the comm.

 

-x-x-x-

 

Sleep came fitfully for Anakin. He kept dreaming of the crash over and over. Each time had a different result. One time Ahsoka actually died, another Obi-Wan died right next to him as a tree impaled him on the way down to the surface, and the most recent one included all three on the ship dying, the ship being blasted to pieces, their bodies vaporized. Eventually he woke up and couldn’t fall back asleep. He worried too much about the clones being without their commanders, he worried about Ahsoka, and he worried how Obi-Wan was holding up. Sure he didn’t know the older man that well, but they crashed together. At least an effort could be made to get to know each other a little.

Anakin sighed and got up from his sleeping spot, propped up against the wall next to Ahsoka. She had yet to wake up from her unconsciousness, and with each passing hour, Anakin only became more worried for her.

Moving as silently as he could, Anakin walked out of the broken ship. He looked up at the night sky, stars shining bright above him. He took a moment to take in the cool air, listen to the forest sounds. Lots of bugs. He smiled to himself a little. If anything, they had bugs to snack on for a bit of protein. 

The snap of a twig caught Anakin’s attention, and he spun around on alert, only to find Obi-Wan stepping out of the treeline and into the moonlight, his hands up to calm the startled Jedi. He waited until he was close enough for Anakin to see his hands in the darkness before speaking.

“I worked on healing Ahsoka for a while, then came out to meditate. I sensed you awaken. You felt...uneasy.”

Anakin glanced back at the ship, then he looked back at Obi-Wan. “Nightmares. About the crash. None of them were too pleasant.”

“First time crashing?” Obi-Wan asked, moving over to a log and sitting down, patting the spot next to him.

A chuckle came from the younger man’s chest. “No, but first big crash I would say.” He moved to sit next to Obi-Wan.

“We survived, and Ahsoka will pull through.”

“I sure hope so. She’s been my best friend as long as I’ve been in the Order. She’s like my sister.”

“When did you join the Order?”

“It took some effort for me to actually be accepted. Your old master did as much as he could before he was murdered.” Anakin sighed. “But I think I finally joined when I was 12. Took the Council three years to decide if they wanted me or not.”

“That really is late, but then again, most of the younglings are brought to the temple as toddlers or younger. Older younglings have a harder time being accepted without a Master willing to take them.”

“I was first discovered when you and your master came to Tatooine. I didn’t know how late I was coming into the Order until I was given weird looks by all the other padawans. Luckily I had Ahsoka who took me in as her friend.”

“It’s always good to have a friend or two. Children, even in the Order, can act like bullies at times. Most grow out of it.”

“I did see those bullies grow out of it, but that didn’t stop it from hurting when they looked at me weird.” Anakin shrugged, looking up at the stars once more.

“I know… I grew up with some bullies who made fun of me for my disability. I think the only sign language they ever learned was the name they liked to call me. It really hurt every time.”

“They assigned your name for themselves? That’s really offensive to you. You already have a sign name, and I know that I can’t make my sign name for myself, or make a new one for you. That’s not how that works.” Anakin shook his head. “I’m a bit disappointed that they didn’t respect that.”

“I’m glad you know how disrespectful such a thing is.”

“I never knew anyone personal enough to get a sign name from them, but I never gave myself one. I guess I knew I just had to wait for the right person to come along to give me one. Not that I’m asking you to give me one.”

Obi-Wan smirked, “We’ll see.”

Anakin smirked back. “You know, you're probably the most interesting Jedi I've ever met. All the others are basically the same.”

“How so?” Obi-Wan asked with a confused look.

“You're more interesting to talk to. Not necessarily because you're deaf, but I don't know. I guess I like talking to you more than the older masters of the Order who talk nothing but peace and politics all day long.”

“You must have never gotten the chance to really have a conversation with my Master. He really liked to test the limits of the code. Hard to believe he’s the grandpadawan of Master Yoda himself.” Obi-Wan chuckled.

Anakin blinked. “Really? That means you’re Yoda’s great-grandpadawan. That’s quite a big honor to be part of that master-padawan line.”

“Master Yoda invites me for tea every week when able. It’s nice to have some sense of our lineage. With my Master gone, and Yoda’s Padawan fallen...well, we are the only two left of his line. It’s nice, For all his strict views on the Jedi Code, he does have a grandfatherly feel when it is just the two of us and a nice pot of tea. Though he does tend to serve chocolate-covered beatles as treats…” Obi-Wan said, making a face as he mentioned the bugs.

Anakin suddenly started laughing, doubling over and holding his gut. He couldn’t collect himself enough to explain his sudden outburst to the redhead.

“I didn’t think it was that funny.” Obi-Wan smiled once Anakin had calmed a bit.

Anakin chuckled. “No, no, it’s funny because, well, I was known for eating bugs when I was younger. I indulge in one here and there when I need a snack.” 

“Well, they are good in protein and I can understand it for a survival thing, but as a  _ snack _ ?”

“Bugs were sometimes the only thing available to eat. I developed a taste for them over the years.”

“Well if we have tea together, promise me we can have non-bug related snacks to go with it.” Obi-Wan said, sticking out his tongue in mock-disgust. 

Anakin rolled his eyes with a smirk. “Of course, no bug snacks. I promise.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” Obi-Wan’s laugh sounded out loud as he then nudged the other Jedi. “Maybe we could have a nice evening tea and bake some crisps once back on Coruscant--Ahsoka can join as well, of course.”

Anakin nodded. “I think we’d both like that. It’d be a nice time to relax after this mission.”

“And I’m sure our next landing will go much smoother.” Obi-Wan smirked.

“Oh yes, certainly, considering we get another ship. This one is totaled.” 

“I’d like to think all our men landed safely. We just need to find them, and I’m sure they’re looking for us--how are you doing on that comm, by the way? It looks a total mess in there.” he nodded over to the ship.

“It's almost done. I can receive signals, but I haven't been able to send any out. We can't communicate with anyone yet.”

“That must be frustrating.”

Anakin nodded. “A little, yeah. I'm close to finishing, but I'm still quite a ways at the same time.”

“Have you always had a talent for fixing things like that?”

“I guess, yeah. I was building podracers when you and your master came to Tatooine. I also built a droid.”

“I knew you raced, but didn’t know you built the podracers you used. Both things are really impressive for someone so young at the time.”

Anakin smiled. “I suppose so.”

“So, you race, you fix things, you build things… Anything else you like doing for fun?”

“Hanging out with friends, sparring, not much else. But I guess I make do.”

“So what you’re saying is...you like good company and getting down and dirty or work up a good sweat?” Obi-Wan said, his cheeks heating.

Anakin smirked. “Ah, so that's where your mind is. Not something I would expect from such a high ranking Jedi such as yourself.”

Obi-Wan felt his face flush darker as he scrambled for words. “I didn’t mean it like that--well, a little, but not like I--I mean…” he sighed and glanced away, “You’re very handsome.”

The younger man chuckled. “I could probably say the same about you, if I'm to be honest here.”

Obi-Wan looked up from Anakin’s hands to meet his gaze with an almost shy smile, “Really?”

Anakin nodded lightly, the nod his only response to Obi-Wan's question.

They were leaning in closer to each other, both unaware of their own action as they were drawn in to the point that their noses almost touched. 

Just before their lips touched, Anakin paused. He realized how close they were, and though it didn't bother him, he had to wonder if Obi-Wan was okay with them closing the distance between them. He dismissed the thought and leaned in, connecting their lips.

Obi-Wan didn’t pull away, he didn’t even pause in surprise. His eyes simply closed and his hand moved to gingerly touch Anakin’s cheek as he pressed into the kiss.

The kiss was over quickly, both men parting and staring at each other in the dark of the night. 

Anakin swallowed and smiled. “That was nice.”

“I agree… First kiss?”

“Yeah… I assume it's the same for you.”

“Yeah… I wouldn’t mind doing it again.” Obi-Wan admitted.

Anakin didn't hesitate the second time. He took Obi-Wan's lips once more, kissing longer and deeper, anything to keep the kiss going. By the end of it, Obi-Wan had somehow slipped into Anakin’s lap, his arms wrapped around the blond, and his breathing heavy when their lips parted only for air before the kiss locked once more.

Neither knew how long they had been kissing when the comm unit actually went off. Anakin pulled away from Obi-Wan, looked at the comm, then back at the redhead with a flushed face. He cleared his throat, smiling sheepishly, as he moved Obi-Wan off of him and moved over to the comm. The notification tone kept going off until he figured out how to answer. At least the recipient wouldn’t see his or Obi-Wan’s faces.

“General Skywalker! Are you there? General?”

Anakin looked at the flickering blue image. Rex… “Rex? Can you hear me?”

There was a long pause, and Anakin was about ready to disconnect when Rex spoke again. “Yes, General! I hear you! I can’t see you though.”

Anakin breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank the Force. Our comm broke in the crash. I’ve fixed it up mostly, but I wasn’t sure if I could even get through to anyone. I’m glad to know that I can.”

“All of us were really worried about you. We’ve got most of the supplies distributed to the civilians now, but we’ve been trying to reach you since we landed.”

“We’re fine… mostly. Ahsoka took a heavy beating. She’s still unconscious.”

Rex nodded. “We’ve all been worried about you. Do you know your location’s coordinates?”

Anakin shook his head. “The only piece of tech I could really save was the comm. I can’t tell you where we are, and we aren’t anywhere near the city. I don’t think we’re even remotely close to the original landing site.”

“That’s troubling… And there aren’t any landmarks we can search for to find you?”

“Aside from the large crash site? Nothing. Just trees as far as I can see. No water source.”

“Alright, we can see if we can trace your location from the comm. We’ll keep you updated if you stay online.”

Anakin nodded. “We aren’t going anywhere any time soon. We’ll stay online.”

“Good.” Rex sighed and took his helmet off, wiping sweat off his brow. “I’ll let Caracal know of his general’s condition. Hopefully General Tano gets better soon.”

Anakin looked back at Ahsoka, then at Obi-Wan. “Yeah… all we can do is hope at this point.”


End file.
